Ironing board



April-28, 1942. F 2,281,030

IRONING BOARD Filed Jan. 8, 1941 INVENTOR IIVA PEARL FAIR I I ATTORNE Patented Apr. 28, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,281,030 IRONING BOARD Ina. Pearl Fair, Detroit, Mich. Application January 8, 1941, Serial No. 373,558

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in collapsible ironing boards.

Many people living in small apartments, summer cottages, automobile trailers and the like are constantly confronted with a lack of storage or standing space for ironing boards, and, as a consequence, either an inadequate small-sized ironing board is used, or, if a conventional-sized ironing board is employed, its storage is either unsightly or difficult.

With the foregoing in view, one object of. the invention is to provide a full conventional-sized ironing board that may be easily set up and readily collapsed and folded into a convenient bundle with the legs thereof folded compactly between folded sections of the ironing board.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved collapsible and foldable ironing board which is inexpensive to manufacture and readily set-up and braced in such a manner as to be strong and rigid and capable of withstanding both longitudinal and transverse stresses and strains resulting from both ordinary and vigorous ironing operations.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which: 1

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a collapsible ironing board embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the construction disclosed in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the construction disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the ironing board disclosed in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive in its collapsed and folded position.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view similar to Fig. 4 showing the ironing board in its collapsed and folded position, an inside pair of legs thereof being shown in elevation.

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of a typical bracing member preferably employed Referring now to the drawing wherein like numerals refer to like and corresponding parts throughout the several views, the illustrative embodiment of the invention disclosed therein comprises, in general, an ironing board I formed of a rear section II and a forward section I2 hinged together by a plurality of long strap hinges I3 in such a manner as to dispose the bottoms of the said sections II and I2 of the ironing board I0 opposite and in sufficient spaced relationship to each other to accommodate the pairs of board supporting legs I l and I therebetween when collapsed and folded as best shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

The forward section I2 of the ironing board I U is maintained in its set-up position as an extension of the rear section II by means of a slide It reciprocatingly mounted in telescoped relationship through a pair of guides I'I' secured to the underside of the rear section II of the ironing board It. Figs. 1 and 2 show the slide I6 extended forwardly and functioning as a cantilever to support the forward section I2 from the rear section I I of the said ironing board Ill after the forward section I2 has been swung On its hinges I3 into alignment with the rear section II thereof. Cleats i8 and I9 at the ends of the said slide I6 serve as grip means for manually sliding the said slide Iii telescopingly through the guides I "I and function as stops to prevent the said slide I6 from being pulled out from between the said guides I6 and the rear section II of the ironing board It.

The pair of board supporting legs I l are hinged to the bottom of the rear end of the rear board section II by suitable hinges 20, and, when the ironing board is set up extend diagonally forward and downward from the said hinges 20 as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Each leg I4 is preferably constructed in two sections, an upper section I40 and a lower section MI hinged together by a suitable hinge 2i disposed on the underside of each leg I4 to permit the upper and lower sections Mil and MI thereof to fold over fiat against each other when the ironing board I0 is collapsed; see Fig. 4.

Although each of the supporting legs I 4 are shown in two sections and hinged together, it is contemplated that they may be made collapsible in any other suitable manner that will permit them to be rigid when the ironing board is set up.

The pair of board supporting legs I-5 are hinged to the bottom of the front end of the rear board section II by suitable hinges 22, and, when the board is set up, extend diagonally rearward and downward from the said hinges 22 as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2!. Each leg I5 is constructed in two sections, an upper section I 59 and a lower section I 5I hinged together by a suitable hinge 23 disposed on the underside of each leg IE to permit the upper and lower sections I so and I5I thereof to fold over fiat against each other when the ironing board If! is collapsed, see Fig. 5.

The ironing board ii) tapers in the usual manner from wide at the rear thereof to narrow at the front thereof, and the pairs of supporting legs I4 and I5 converge toward each other at the front of the said ironing board l'fl as best indicated in Fig. 2. The outer side of each supporting leg I4 is preferably disposed parallel to an outer edge of the rear section II of the ironing board l0, and each supporting leg I4 is disposed in juxtaposition to one of the supporting legs I5, see Fig. 2.

Each supporting leg M is provided with a suitable aperture 24 transversely therethrough and each supporting leg I5 is provided with a suitable aperture 25 transversely therethrough. The apertures 24 and 25 in adjacent supporting legs l4 and 15 receive a securing pin 26 when the ironing board is set up, said pin being removed to collapse the legs. Each of the said securing pins 26 have a wing nut 21 thereon which is employed to tighten rigidly the supporting legs M and I5 in their set-up position.

Because of employing very light materials for leg construction, it is desirable to use iron rod cross bracing 28 between the lower portions l4] of each pair of supporting legs l4, longitudinal tie rods 29 between the lower portions MI and It I of supporting legs l4 and I5 on the outside thereof, and cross bracing 30 between the lower portions l5l of each pair of supporting legs l5. A bracing rod 30 typical of bracing rods and tie rods 28, 29 and 30, except for length, is shown in Fig. 6. Each of the said bracing and tie rods 28, 29 and 30 have the ends thereof turned! into a hook as indicated by the numeral 3| in Fig. 6. The bracing and tie rods 28, 29 and 30 are secured to the legs which they brace by urging the hook 3| thereof into suitably located apertures provided in the lower portions of the said legs I4 and 15 extending part way therethrough. These tie rods are removed to collapse the leg structure.

From the hereinbefore given detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, the ease and facility of setting up and taking down the ironing board is apparent.

When collapsed and folded, its convenient size and the fact that the supporting legs nest between the two ironing board sections make ironing boards embodying the invention easy to handle and store away. When set up, the ironing board becomes one of full conventional size and is extremely rigid during both normal and vigorous use.

Although but One specific embodiment of the invention has been disclosed and described herein, it will be observed that various changes including the size, shape, arrangement and details of the various parts thereof may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and it is not intended to limit the scope thereof other than by the terms of the appended claim.

I claim:

In a folding ironing board, in combination, a rear section and a forward section foldable with respect to each other, the front section serving as an extension of said rear section when the ironing board is set up, a pair of downwardly and forwardly disposed foldable legs hinged to the rear of said rear section and a pair of downwardly and rearwardly disposed foldable legs hinged to the front of said rear section, the said forwardly extending legs extending to a point substantially below the free end of the said forward section when extended, one forwardly disposed leg and one rearwardly disposed leg being juxtaposed laterally on each side of said rear section, a hinge disposed on the bottom of each foldable leg at a joint therein normal to the said leg, a removable securing pin telescoped through each pair of juxtaposed legs when the ironing board is set-up, means cooperating with each securing pin for clamping each pair of juxtaposed legs together when said ironing board is set up, means for bracing the ironing board legs when the ironing board is set up, a pair of long strap hinges secured to abutting ends of said rear and front ironing board sections anchoring said sections together when the ironing board is set up and holding said sections in sufficient spaced relationship to accommodate the folded supporting legs thereof when the bottoms of said ironin board sections are folded in opposite relationship to each other, and a slide telescopingly secured to the bottom of said rear section serving as a cantilever support for said front section when said ironing board is set up.

INA PEARL FAIR. 

